(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a substrate treating apparatus for performing a series of treatments of substrates such as semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for liquid crystal displays, glass substrates for photomasks, and substrates for optical disks (hereinafter called simply “substrates”).
(2) Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, such a substrate treating apparatus is used, for example, in a photolithographic process for forming photoresist film on substrates, exposing the substrates having the photoresist film formed thereon, and developing the exposed substrates (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-151293 (1994) (page 3 and FIGS. 1 and 2) and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-17724 (1996) (pages 3-4 and FIG. 1), for example).
A conventional substrate treating apparatus has substrate treating sections including a photoresist coating section and a developing section, and an interface section for transferring substrates between the substrate treating section and an exposing apparatus (stepper) which is an external apparatus. The substrates coated with a photoresist in the substrate treating section are transferred to the exposing apparatus through the interface section. The substrates having a circuit pattern printed thereon in the exposing apparatus are transferred back to the interface section. In recent years, a chemically amplified photoresist has been used increasingly. This photoresist requires a strict management of time from exposure to heating of the substrates, in order to maintain patterning accuracy. Thus, the conventional substrate treating apparatus has heating and cooling units arranged in the interface section in order to heat-treat the exposed substrates promptly. A substrate returned to the interface section from the exposing apparatus is promptly loaded into the heating unit in the interface section by a substrate transport mechanism of the interface section. The heated substrate is transported to the cooling unit in the interface section to be cooled to room temperature. The substrate having undergone a post-exposure bake (PEB) in this way is passed from the interface section to the substrate treating section, and is developed in the developing section of the substrate treating sections.
The conventional substrate treating apparatus having such a construction has the following drawback.
The conventional substrate treating apparatus has a heating unit in the interface section for a post-exposure bake. This construction has a possibility of exerting an adverse thermal influence on the exposing apparatus adjoining the interface section.